New Jersey State Comptroller Matthew Boxer. An investigation by his office found that several adult day care facilities billed the state-funded Medicaid program for services they did not provide and, in many cases, for patients who were not even in attendance at the facilities.Noah K. Murray/The Star-Ledger

TRENTON — Several adult day care centers billed the state Medicaid program for services they did not provide and, in many cases, for patients who were not even there, the state comptroller announced today.

A series of investigations uncovered a pattern of more than $10 million in wasted spending and raised questions about whether patients have been receiving appropriate care, Comptroller Matthew Boxer said in releasing 23 pages of findings.

"It’s not often that we look at this many service providers in one industry and find these kinds of problems at all of them," Boxer said at a news conference at his office today. "It’s clear that greater oversight measures are required."

The investigations focused on five of New Jersey’s 134 adult medical day care facilities in Essex, Union, Middlesex, Atlantic and Ocean counties.

Boxer said he chose the five, which billed Medicaid more than $60 million from 2002 to 2011, based on referrals from state departments and tips, including some from former employees.

Among the findings Boxer highlighted today:

• Some centers billed the state for services provided to patients who did not appear to be medically or clinically eligible for the program.

• There were numerous instances where the centers billed the state for days when patients were not there, including one case where a patient was on vacation for a month.

• The state paid more than $10,000 for the care of a person who never entered the facility or completed the paperwork necessary for admission.

• At one center, investigators requested 28 patient files but received only 22, with the facility unable to provide "one slip of paper" for the other six.

• On numerous dates, staff at one facility failed to record whether they had checked the blood sugar of a diabetic patient.

Boxer has sent his findings to the state attorney general for possible criminal charges, but a spokeswoman for the office there would not confirm whether an investigation was under way.

In addition, Boxer said he has filed notices of claim seeking more than $10.2 million from four of the facilities audited, his spokesman, Pete McAleer, said after the briefing.

The state is seeking to recoup nearly $4.3 million from Belleville Medical Day Care; more than $3.5 million from the Golden Era Adult Medical Day Care in Edison; nearly $1.8 million from the Atlantic Adult Day Health Care in Northfield; and almost $630,000 from Home Sweet Home Adult Medical Day Care in Elizabeth.

The fifth center, Oceanview Adult Medical Day Care in Lakewood, had already paid $175,000 and later closed. And a sixth facility, Garden Adult Medical Day Care in Newark, was the subject of an earlier investigation and had repaid the state $1.6 million.

Robert Fogg, an attorney representing the four centers from which Boxer is seeking to recoup funds, said the findings have been overblown and that the report implies negligence or fraud in instances where the centers simply did a bad job of keeping records.

"We’ve appealed all of the recovery actions that the comptroller’s office has taken," Fogg said. "We dispute almost the entirely of the findings that they came up with."

For instance, he said, the comptroller pointed to a case where a center did not document that a patient had been given required eye drops, while the patient was given the drop at home.

Fogg also said the claim that one facility failed to provide files for six patients is "completely erroneous."

Many facilities — from nursing homes to hospitals — are understaffed and struggle to keep up with documentation, the attorney said.

In addition, Fogg said the comptroller was suggesting the day care centers should have documented routine activities, like helping a patient to the bathroom, when that isn’t needed.

"It just doesn’t work that way," he said. "It’s not a requirement. No centers across the country do this kind of documentation."

The comptroller’s office recommended new oversight for the day care centers, including unannounced site visits and random and routine audits.

Jim Donnelly, president of the New Jersey Adult Day Services Association, said problems are prevalent at only "a small minority of providers," but he issued a statement in support of new safeguards.

"There is no room in our industry for those who try to subvert Medicaid laws and regulations, at a cost to both taxpayers and those providers who follow the rules, and we applaud the Comptroller for working to identify and correct those problems," Donnelly said.